BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASEWind River-Bighorn Basin District Office

Release Date:
11/20/09

Contacts:

Sarah Beckwith 307-347-5207

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BLM Wyoming Completes Fall Wild Horse Gathers

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in Wyoming recently gathered wild horses in seven Herd Management Areas (HMAs) within the Cody, Lander, Rawlins and Worland field office areas. The gathers began Oct. 16 and concluded Nov. 14.

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Approximately 1,800 wild horses were gathered from the McCullough Peaks HMA, the Fifteenmile HMA, and the Red Desert Complex which includes the Green Mountain, Stewart Creek, Crooks Mountain, Antelope Hills and Lost Creek HMAs. Of these, more than 1,200 were shipped to wild horse facilities in Rock Springs, Wyo. and Canon City, Colo., where they are being prepared for adoption. The remaining horses were returned to their former ranges.

The majority of breeding age mares selected for release back to their former ranges were treated with Porcine Zona Pellucida (PZP), a fertility control vaccine. It is anticipated that PZP will slow horse population growth rate in these HMAs and reduce the frequency of future gathers.

Many of the horses that were removed from the range will be gentled and trained at the Mantle Wild Horse Training and Adoption Center in Wheatland, Wyo.; the Wyoming Honor Farm in Riverton, Wyo.; and the Colorado Department of Corrections facility in Canon City. Through the Wild Horse Inmate Program, select horses taken to the Honor Farm and the Canon City facility will receive personal and extensive training as part of an inmate rehabilitation program. The trained horses will be available for adoption in Wyoming beginning in spring, 2010.

The BLM manages wild horses and burros on public rangelands in a manner consistent with its overall multiple-use mission, which takes into account all natural resources and users of the public lands. As mandated by the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971, the BLM protects, manages and controls wild horses and burros to ensure that healthy herds thrive on healthy rangelands. Through land-use planning efforts that involve public participation, the BLM determines the appropriate number of wild horses that each HMA can support. The recent gathers returned the seven HMAs to their appropriate management levels.

For more information, please contact BLM Public Affairs Specialist Sarah Beckwith at 307-347-5207.

The BLM manages more land - 253 million acres - than any other Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The Bureau, with a budget of about $1 billion, also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.